Dan Jurgens is taking over the reins on the Valiant
Universe's Man of the Atom, and plans to take readers for quite a wild
ride. "Solar offers a chance to generate a whole lot of excitement. You
can take him places you can't take a character like Ninjak. I could take
him to any corner of the universe, literally." Cooking up big and bold
ways to challenge Valiant's most powerful hero, Jurgens sees finding legitimate
opposition for Solar, Man of the Atom as one of his biggest creative challenges.

Jurgens has developed a strong understanding of the
character of Phil Seleski, the ultimate split-personality: part-physicist,
part-god. "Solar knows he will outlive and outlast anyone or anything he
knows. Ultimately, Solar has to be disappointed with the average human
being. Somewhere in his mind, there has to be the desire to be with people
or creatures on his level of existence. At some point, you have to either
change yourself or move." Jurgens promises the result of this crisis of
faith will be a dynamic change in Solar's life and environment. The results
will shock longtime fans of the title, and provide the perfect jumping-on
point for new readers.

Dan Jurgens has spent his career infusing long-running
comics series with incredible vitality and innovation. A graphic designer
with dreams of cracking the four-color big time, he met Mike Grell at a
comics show in the Minneapolis area and pitched his portfolio. Grell liked
it enough to hire Dan on the spot to draw Warlord.

On Jurgens' second assignment, Sun Devils, writer
and editor Gerry Conway heavily collaborated with Dan on the plotting.
After the sixth issue of the maxi-series, Conway decided to continue editing,
but to give Jurgens a shot at scripting as well. "I had always wanted to
write. I see no separation in the work I do writing and drawing a comic.
I'm creating a comic from start to finish."

"I have lots more things to say as a creative talent
on existing characters and some that I have in mind." With his galaxy-shaking
plans for Solar, Man of the Atom, Dan Jurgens will be generating excitement
in the Valiant Universe for years to come.